There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

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Taking a Hiatus on my WIP Series

When it comes to writing, I have a “I’m not quitting” mentality this time around. It is very important to me to zero in on this ever-changing craft and publish my own stories to share with the world. I am not, by any means, taking a hiatus from that dream. However, this series that I have bouncing around in my head has too many flaws for me to deal with and stay confident. It is a story close to my heart and I will not put it to sleep for good but it just needs to take an afternoon nap right now. Since I have never fully completed a manuscript, not even a rough draft version of one, I think the concept of a three book series with a lot of subplots going on is overwhelming me. I have been spending way too much time trying to sort and outline and plan and NO time really writing. And even after all the planning work, I still feel like key elements are missing from the story. So I feel the best thing for me to do right now is put it aside and regroup.

As you might know, my favorite author Maggie Stiefvater did this with her book The Scorpio Races. She had the idea for a long time but the direction she was trying to force the story in just never felt “right” to her, so she put it aside until later on in her writing career where she figured out the problems and corrected them – and then the book just wrote itself!

Now, I wouldn’t be so eager to move away from my series if I didn’t have another great idea simmering on the side. The idea is a standalone novel and the plot points and climax have already presented themselves to me in an simple outlining session. When I did this with such ease, it really again confirmed in my mind that I had some issues with my series that need to be addressed before I could move forward with it. Maybe this hiatus away while writing another novel will help me look at it in a different light later on and adjust it as needed.

The other possibility is that I get stuck for the same reasons with my new idea. Then, I have to really consider what might be wrong with my process.

I am a little bummed about the prospect of leaving my series behind for awhile to tackle a new idea but I am pretty excited for this new idea to really take shape, so that kind of evens things out.

Anyone else ever have to put a story on hold because it just wasn’t “ready” to be told yet? Did it work for you to put it aside for awhile?